Highlights

• You will independently identify problems and potentials of the current logistics processes at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey, including an on-site visit to the warehouse.
• You will independently design solutions that digitise the processes and implement them with the help of modern and mobile SAP applications.
• You will implement selected solutions as a prototype in a team.
• You will learn how to find new solutions for an important company-relevant problem, apply your own skills in an action-oriented and independent manner and expand your problem-solving expertise in a team.
• You will acquire skills in project management, teamwork, design knowledge and presentation techniques.

Warehouse logistics at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey

As part of this project seminar, you will familiarise yourself with the logistics processes in a warehouse for a real use case and will be able to further develop the processes with the help of prototypes.

Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey is a company of Lufthansa Technik AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Lufthansa Technik AG is the provider of maintenance and repair services for aircraft. Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey specialises in the maintenance and repair of aircraft turbines and employs over 500 people in Alzey with an annual turnover of over €400 million.

The maintenance and repair of aircraft turbines naturally also requires warehouses in which the necessary components, parts and consumables are stored. At Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey, the processes that take place within these warehouses are not yet fully digitalised and offer a great deal of potential. Enterprise resource planning systems, such as SAP S/4 HANA in particular, are already in use at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey, but not yet for the central logistics processes. Students in the project seminar should therefore analyse which problems currently exist in the logistics processes, which potentials can be realised and which solutions can be implemented with the help of SAP. A special focus will be placed on mobile aspects of SAP with the help of SAP Fiori, so that the processes can be supported directly in the warehouse.

Subject of the project seminar

The subject of the project seminar is the problem analysis, planning, conception, prototype development and evaluation of the digitalised logistics processes at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey. The focus is on the technical, organisational and, above all, procedural changes associated with the use of innovative (and mobile) SAP technologies.

Key points of the project seminar will be

• Developing a basic understanding of SAP and its application: Firstly, they will deepen their understanding of the mechanisms of enterprise resource planning systems that they already know from their Bachelor's and/or Master's degree programme. In doing so, they learn and analyse which processes can be supported well with which new SAP technologies.
• Develop a basic understanding of logistics processes: Firstly, it is important that you develop a basic understanding of the logistics processes at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey. This will be deepened by a visit to the warehouses in Alzey, among other things. This will enable you to understand and design the support and improvement of processes through SAP applications.
• Development of design requirements: Based on familiarisation with the basics, you will work together to formulate design requirements. In doing so, you will consider the approach of how mobile devices can usefully support logistics processes and realise potential using ERP systems, in particular SAP. You will then model the IT artefact conceptually. You will present the results in an interim presentation.
• Designing an instantiation: In accordance with the design requirements, you will develop a prototype of the digitalised logistics processes including the SAP application systems involved with mobile components (SAP Fiori). It may be necessary to adapt the design requirements. Design and programming decisions must be justified and documented.
• Demonstration and evaluation: In the final step, the prototype(s) of the digitalised logistics processes are demonstrated and evaluated in terms of their functionality. Problems are critically reflected upon and future research and action needs are identified.
• Project conclusion: At the end of the project, the knowledge gained will be presented and discussed in a final presentation.

The tasks represent the basic structure of the seminar and are adapted accordingly depending on the number of participants and expertise in various fields and also include ERP systems.

Operational realisation of the project seminar

The project is worked on independently in a small team at Paderborn University. Regular, independent coordination will take place and practical partners will be involved.

The project seminar is divided into two phases: In the first phase (seminar phase), you will select a topic area of your choice on which you will research and analyse current information and summarise it as part of your seminar paper. Your individual skills profile will be taken into account when choosing the topic. As part of an interim presentation, you will present your results to the entire group. You will impart relevant knowledge from your subject area to your fellow students. The second phase (project phase) starts with an excursion to the Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey maintenance facility, where you will familiarise yourself with the warehouse in detail. You will then be instructed on how to jointly solve the identified problems and realise potential in an action-oriented manner. We will provide you with orientation and tips on team organisation and the successful implementation of methods. At the end of the project, the final results are presented in a final presentation and discussed in a subsequent discussion round. The project team documents the procedure and the results. Depending on the size of the group, you will submit a project report or individual seminar papers.

Group work in the summer semester 2024

As part of the project work, good cooperation and exchange within the team is important. We would like to offer you space to work together in presence. In the new and modern ERP Lab, you have the opportunity to exchange ideas and develop ideas together in the project team.

Further information can be found at: groups.uni-paderborn.de/ww-sharepoint/modulhandbuch/mhbelement.php. We look forward to welcoming motivated students and an interesting seminar with you.

Schedule:

• Mon 15 Apr, 13-15: Kick-off event
• Mon 22 Apr, 13-15: Choice of topics, how to write a seminar paper
• Mon 06 May, 13-14: Question time on the seminar paper
• Thu 23 May, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Intermediate examination (presentation of seminar papers)
• Mon. 27.05. - Tue. 28.05.: Two-day excursion to Alzey to Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey
• Thu, 27 June, 9am-12pm: Intermediate presentation (technical concept)
• Thu, 08.08., 13-16: Final presentation

In the summer semester 2024, the Chair of Information Systems, in particular Business Information Systems, offers the seminar Information Systems for Smart Service for Master's students. The subject of the seminar is the writing of a scientific seminar paper. To this end, students are first taught important content for scientific work and are closely supervised in the further course of the seminar. The module therefore provides a good basis for writing the Master's thesis. Important milestones of the seminar are the presentation of the exposé (6 June 2024; 20% of the overall grade), the presentation of the results (17/18 July 2024; 20% of the overall grade) and the submission of the seminar paper (18 August 2023; 60% of the overall grade).

In the summer semester 2024, the seminar papers will be written on topics based on the Chair's current research work on business process management and workarounds as part of the ChangeWorkAROUND project.

Topic area "Adaptability through workarounds"

Adaptability is the ability of a company to perceive changes that exceed an originally plannable or foreseeable extent in good time and to master them both technically and organisationally. In order to establish and expand adaptability, it is necessary to explicitly anchor adaptability in the corporate strategy. Corporate cultural, organisational, economic and ecological aspects are taken into account holistically for networked value creation. An integrative view of the fields of production, services and work is a prerequisite for achieving interdisciplinary, application-oriented new solutions.

Adaptable value creation processes are created through workarounds

In the high-tech industry, changes are often characterised by new customer needs and a change in demand for products and services. Producers must therefore be able to quickly adapt existing value creation processes in order to provide their customers with customised solutions. So-called workarounds, i.e. targeted deviations to improve processes, are an efficient means of meeting new customer requirements quickly and successfully. However, workarounds are currently rarely translated into process innovations because processes are often firmly defined and dynamic adjustments are not desired. As a result, workarounds still rarely realise their innovation potential beyond individual professionals. In order to increase the ability to change through workarounds, companies lack the methods and tools to use them in a targeted manner to further develop their processes and to be able to change in an agile and sustainable manner.

This is where the ChangeWorkAROUND research project comes in. The aim is to develop new methods and tools with which industrial goods companies can recognise and evaluate workarounds at an early stage and use them as part of structured change processes to achieve sustainable change. If workarounds are registered at an early stage, they can be communicated within the company and used to further develop existing information systems, business processes and organisational structures. The company's ability to change is improved by recognising changes in the market environment in a decentralised manner and transferring them into successful new structures in an orderly manner.

In particular, data-based methods for identifying and evaluating workarounds using digital process data, methods for strategic contextualisation and evaluation of agile process innovations as well as methods for change and cultural management of the process organisation are being developed. Three industrial companies use these methods as part of a precisely tailored overall process to identify, analyse and evaluate workarounds in a structured manner and use them for agile process innovations. Specifically, the project focuses on and prototypically improves the adaptability of smart services in Industry 4.0, gas cylinder logistics and knowledge-intensive customer order processes in security technology.

As part of the seminar work, students should work out how workarounds can be recognised, evaluated and used in industrial companies. Various subject areas can be addressed within the scope of a seminar paper, which can basically be divided into three methodological subject areas that are to be further specified within the scope of a seminar paper.

• The case-by-case analysis of existing workarounds with regard to their characteristics and potential. Examples from the project can be used for this.
• The conception and design of IT artefacts for the effective recognition, evaluation and use of workarounds.
• Analysing cultural aspects that support or hinder workarounds.

Further formal guidance can be found here: https: //groups.uni-paderborn.de/ww-sharepoint/modulhandbuch/mhbelement.php?221.797.

We are looking forward to motivated students and an interesting seminar.

Generative artificial intelligence and value creation with smart service systems

Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) promises the further development of AI from purely analytical functions to the synthesis of computer-generated content that people perceive as new and creative services. In the recent past, for example, the large language model ChaptGPT from the company OpenAI has shown how well an AI can already generate new texts based on analysing and synthesising large amounts of data. Other software tools can also generate images or videos based on specific user input, for example.

Generative AI has thus overcome a decisive hurdle on the path to further commercialisation and will have a considerable impact on how we work and live. Companies face the challenge of using the technology in a way that supports innovation and improves performance in day-to-day business (Benlian et al. 2022; Brynjolfsson, Li & Raymond 2023). The technology must also be used responsibly in order to make a good contribution to the information society. As Generative AI continues to advance technically, we need to work out how value creation can be redesigned with Generative AI.

A service system describes the joint creation of services by providers and customers in all conceivable value creation constellations, from Industry 4.0 to cultural services (DIN SPEC 33453). In a service system, the actors involved provide resources for the provision of services and carry out the value creation in a cooperative manner in order to achieve the best possible service result. Smart service systems are a subcategory of service systems in which intelligent, digitally networked objects assume the role of an interface object (DIN SPEC 33453, Beverungen et al. 2019a and 2019b). An electric car, for example, takes on an important interface function in the smart service system "Sustainable Mobility", which connects people, companies and public data.

Character and organisation of the project seminar

The project seminar Smart Service Chair of Information Systems, in particular Business Information Systems, in the coming winter semester 2023/24 aims to design, implement and evaluate prototypical application scenarios of Generative AI in connection with (Smart) Service Systems.

A project seminar is an application-oriented seminar in which Master's students work in teams to develop and evaluate pre-competitive solutions for operational problems. They apply classic and agile project management methods to plan, control and monitor the development of innovative solutions. Students organise the project seminar independently and coordinate their approach with their academic supervisors. This enables students to acquire state-of-the-art subject area and methodological knowledge.

Fields of action and procedure in the upcoming project seminar

The subject of the project seminar is the analysis and design of Generative AI applications for (smart) service systems. Generative AI could, for example, significantly accelerate and improve processes in the development of new smart service systems by generating, visualising and evaluating new business model ideas based on data. The process model of Smart Service Systems Engineering (DIN SPEC 33453), which was developed under the leadership of the chair, could be revised and recombinant service innovations (Beverungen, Lüttenberg & Wolf 2018) could be made possible. Generative AI could also make the execution of processes significantly more efficient. The technology could also help to remove restrictions on the use of services and establish a digitally responsible society (Trier et al. 2023).

In the project seminar, students will familiarise themselves with a selection of Generative AI software tools and examine their application in (smart) service systems. Selected ideas will be explored in greater depth in the context of software prototypes and empirically evaluated. In this way, the students deal in detail with the characteristics, utilisation promises, challenges and implications of this latest technology generation for operational value creation.

Cooperation with the city of Paderborn

In co-operation with the city of Paderborn, we are looking at two aspects as a use case: We are looking at the development of new services in the context of sustainable mobility services that can be established in a city centre. We look at the improvement of service processes and the elimination of process obstacles using the digital service portal of the city of Paderborn (DigiPort). By focussing on these concrete use cases, we will examine the potential of Generative AI in a context-specific manner and thus achieve very good learning progress for the students.

Operational implementation and evaluation of the project seminar

The project will be worked on independently by a team of four to fifteen students at Paderborn University. The scientific problem to be addressed is how generative AI can be used in the context of (smart) service systems. The project encompasses technical, specialist conceptual, organisational, strategic and ethical aspects. This broad portfolio makes the project seminar suitable for students of all degree programmes in the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, regardless of their programming skills.

Students first create their own brief elaboration in the subject area and present this to the project team. The project work then begins in the team. As part of an interim presentation, the approach and initial interim results are presented and defended. At the end of the project, the results and recommendations for action are presented to the interested public in a final public presentation. The project team documents the procedure and the results developed in a project report which, together with the final presentation, forms the basis for the grading. The project will be accompanied by interviews and workshops with employees of the City of Paderborn.

Registration and further information

Please register for this project seminar via PAUL. If we receive more registrations than there are places available, we may have to make a selection.

Further formal information on the project seminar can be found here(https://groups.uni-paderborn.de/ww-sharepoint/modulhandbuch/mhbelement.php?220.820).

We look forward to an interesting project seminar with you!

Literature

Benlian, A., Wiener, M., Cram, W. A., Krasnova, H., Maedche, A., Möhlmann, M., Recker, J. & Remus, U. (2022). Algorithmic Management. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 64, 825-839

Beverungen, D., Breidbach, C.F., Pöppelbuss, J., Tuunainen, V.K. (2019a). Smart service systems: An interdisciplinary perspective. Information Systems Journal (29:6), pp. 1201-1206.

Beverungen, D.; Kundisch, D.; Wünderlich, N.V. (2021): Transforming into a Platform Provider: Strategic Options for Industrial Smart Service Providers. Journal of Service Management, 32(4), pp. 507-532.

Beverungen, D., Lüttenberg, H., Wolf, V. (2018). Recombinant Service Systems Engineering. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 60(5), pp. 377-391.

Beverungen, D., Müller, O., Matzner, M., Mendling, J., vom Brocke, J. (2019b). Conceptualising Smart Service Systems. Electronic Markets, 29(1), pp. 7-18.

Brynjolfsson, E., Li, D., & Raymond, L. R. (2023). Generative AI at work (No. w31161). National Bureau of Economic Research, https://www.nber.org/papers/w31161

German Institute for Standardisation (2019). DIN SPEC 33453: Development of digital service systems. Berlin: Beuth Verlag.

Trier, M.; Kundisch, D.; Beverungen, D.; Müller, O.; Schryen, G.; Mirbabaie, M.; Trang, S. (2023). Digital Responsibility-A Multilevel Framework for Responsible Digitalisation. Business & Information Systems Engineering. Forthcoming.

Summer term 2023: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Design and implementation of a blockchain-based reputation system

Summer term 2023: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Networked cultural platforms, with reference to the research project Data Space Culture

Winter semester 2022/2023: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Cloud-based product configuration in Industry 4.0, in cooperation with Weidmüller

Summer semester 2022: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Design and development of a digital platform consisting of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) and a geographic information system (GIS), with reference to the FLEMING research project

Summer semester 2022: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Process Mining in knowledge-intensive, industrial processes, with reference to the research project BPMI 4.0

Winter semester 2021/2022: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Digital service configuration in Industry 4.0, in cooperation with Weidmüller

Summer semester 2021: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Blockchain-based reputation systems for companies

Summer semester 2021: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Research on digital platforms in business informatics

Winter semester 2020/2021: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Planning, conception and development of a geoinformation-based digital service for network operators and energy suppliers, with reference to the FLEMING research project

Summer semester 2020: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Predictive maintenance for the energy and mobility transition using ERP & GIS, with reference to the FLEMING research project

Summer semester 2020: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Digital services in inner-city retail, with reference to the research project smartmarket²

Summer semester 2019: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Planning, design and implementation of blockchain-based application system architectures

Winter semester 2018/2019: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Development of VR- and AR-based features for a digital service platform in retail, with reference to the smartmarket² research project

Summer semester 2018: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Conception, implementation and evaluation of a mobility platform for the city of Warstein, in cooperation with Infineon Technologies AG

Summer semester 2018: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Digital Transformation of Organisations, in cooperation with Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA, garage33 and Dr. Oetker GmbH.

Winter semester 2017/2018: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Development of analysis tools for mobile services in retail, with reference to the smartmarket² research project

Summer semester 2017: Project seminar Advanced Enterprise Systems (M.184.4392): Mobile ERP & Digital Shopping Experiences in City Centres, with reference to the smartmarket² research project

Summer semester 2017: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Service innovation in digital service systems, with reference to the digivation research project

Winter semester 2016/2017: Project seminar Smart Service (M.184.4391): Predictive Maintenance for Smart Farming, in cooperation with AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG

Summer semester 2016: Seminar Information Systems for Smart Service (M.184.4390): Digital service systems in retail and taxi ride sharing